This map shows the four principle routes that come down from France. In 1995 I walked from Le Puy en Velay to Santiago. This trek took nearly 2 1/2 months. Spanish Steps will be offering the first part of this route on April 25-May 8, 2010. Visit http://www.spanishsteps.com
Vanessaand I led a smallgroupdownthemuddyroadto Santiago thispastAprilandMay, completingtheChemininFranceforthosetrooperesthatstartedthisroutewith me in 2003. Thisyearwe'llstart once againwithPart 1 onApril 25 in Le Puy. Joinus!
I am going through some old photo files and adding them to this blog page. More images of the Camino de Santiago can be seen at http://www.spanishsteps.com
Thiswas the final day of myfirstwalkacrossSpain. I setoutfrom Jaca, a smallmountaintownonthe Camino de Santiago in the Pyrenees, which drops downfromSamport on the border of France. I actuallykayakedtwodaysalong theRioAragon with my friend Cuqui - lucky me, a kayakingperegina. On the Camino between Jaca and Puente la Rienawhereallroadsmeet, I encountered "O" pilgrims. Thereweresome very lonelystretchesofroad, lots of wheat fields with one thin footpath lightly trodden. Once in Puente, 20 K south of Pamplona, theworldofpilgrimageopenedup. Me andmyfamilyof 10 fromaroundtheworld slowly walkedto Santiago together, inch by inch, step by step, west into the setting sun. 32 days later and nearly 500 miles, we touched down in front of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. This was only the end of the beginning for me. http://www.spanishsteps.com